DETROIT – Sweden’s Olympic team will once again have a distinct Detroit Red Wing look to it when the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia come around in February.

Six Wings will take part this season – Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson, Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, Jonathan Ericsson and Jonas Gustavsson.

“That’s the most so far,” said Zetterberg, who’ll be participating in his fourth Olympics. “It’s going to fun to make that trip with all the guys over there.”

“With (the Wings), their core group has been together a long time,” Alfredsson said. “Bringing them all over is going to be a good cornerstone for our (Olympic) team. With Henrik and Niklas in leading roles it bodes well for our team.”

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Zetterberg was also named the team captain.

“It’s a great move,” Alfredsson said. “I think with his experience and the way he plays both sides of the puck, it’s something you want in a captain. He’s obviously extremely respected by everybody in Sweden, all the Swedish players, so it’s a perfect pick for us.”

“An easy decision, I think, a no-brainer,” Kronwall said of Zetterberg being named captain. “I think he’s the best we have, a great captain in so many ways.”

Zetterberg has seen the highs and the lows of the Olympics, winning Gold in 2006 and finishing fifth in 2010.

This will be the fifth Olympic appearance for Alfredsson, who has 11 goals and 12 assists in 20 games.

“Obviously you’ve got to have a long career, you’ve got to play well and you’ve got to be healthy,” Zetterberg said of Alfredsson. “It’s going to be awesome to play with him in another Olympics, just the experience he has and he’s been around for so long it’s going to help.”

Alfredsson, 41, signed a one-year deal with the Wings this past offseason.

“That’s amazing, to be able to play at that level where he’s at, at his age, that really amazes me,” Kronwall said. “I’m sure we haven’t seen enough of him. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he sticks around for another few years.”

Alfredsson, who made his Olympic debut in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, thought playing in the 2010 Games in Vancouver would be his last.

“I tried to appreciate Vancouver because I thought that was going to be my last one, to be honest,” Alfredsson said. “The competition is great, but also everything that’s around the Olympics, the Olympic Village, all the other athletes, it’s pretty unique the way it’s set up. In the Village you live with a lot of other athletes, get to see how they prepare and what they’ve gone through leading up to this. I’ve been very fortunate to be part of five, hopefully, let alone one.”

“When I decided I wanted to play another year in the NHL that was the main thing, trying to win the Stanley Cup, but then obviously being an Olympic year that became a part goal as well,” Alfredsson said. “I was hoping I would stay healthy and play my way on the team. I didn’t want to just have a token spot. I’m really excited to have made the team.”

This will be the third Olympics for Kronwall and second for Franzen and Gustavsson. Ericsson will be taking part in his first.

“Maybe we can have a starting lineup one game, that would be cool,” Gustavsson said. “But we’ll see, there are so many skilled guys on our team and all the other teams. It’s going to be fun to be a part of it.”

Sweden, along with host Russia and Canada are considered favorites to bring home Gold.

“If they get off to a good start I think they’re going to be tough to beat on home ice,” Kronwall said of Russia’s chances. “You always have to mention Canada, the firepower they have up front, size and skill. But we also know when there’s a short tournament, win or you’re out, anything can happen. There’s so many teams are well-coached and have enough to win one game. It’s going to be an extremely exciting tournament.”

Four other Wings were also named to their respect their respective countries – Jimmy Howard (United States), Pave Datsyuk (Russia), Tomas Tatar (Slovakia) and Tomas Jurco (Slovakia).

Chicago and St. Louis also have 10 players heading to the Olympics, while Montreal has eight and Anaheim, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh and Vancouver have seven each.

Send comments to chuck.pleiness@macombdaily.com and visit his blog at redwingsfront.wordpress.com.